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Study Finds Association Between ADHD and Pollution

by Sharon Mazel on May 21, 2013

Sharon Mazel

About the Author

Sharon Mazel is a journalist and mom to four girls. She works with Heidi Murkoff on her What To Expect book series and has written for The Washington Post, Parenting Magazine, Baby Talk Magazine, and of course, WhatToExpect.com. Before becoming a mom she was a TV writer and producer at NBC News, FOX News, and WPIX-NY.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

SUMMARY: Though a new study suggests that kids who live near a major highway have an increased risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers say traffic pollution is only one of many factors that may cause the disorder.

Traffic pollution has been linked to an increased risk for asthma and other conditions (including autism) in children, and now new research suggests that pollution from highways may be associated with hyperactivity in kids.

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center followed nearly 600 children from the time they were born until age seven, when the children's parents completed questionnaires that assess for ADHD-related symptoms including attention problems, aggression, conduct problems, and atypical behavior. The researchers found that those children who were exposed to traffic pollution during their first year of life — because they lived near a major highway or interstate — were more likely to be at risk for the hyperactivity disorder when they were seven years old.

The study, published in the National Institute of Health's Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that pollution from cars may be especially harmful to the rapidly developing brain of infants. Previous research has shown that children exposed to high levels of traffic pollution have lower scores on memory and cognitive tests.

Eleven percent of the population in the U.S. lives within 100 meters of a four-lane highway and 40 percent of children attend school within 400 meters of a major highway. ADHD affects close to 10 percent of children in the United States, and though it's not entirely clear what causes the disorder, most experts believe genes play a vital role. These findings may point to another possible cause for the disorder, though the study authors caution that the genetic component is believed to be much stronger than any potential pollution-related component.

In other words, there's no need to move from your home if you live near a highway, but if you or your spouse has ever been diagnosed with attention difficulties, be sure to let the pediatrician know about any focus or hyperactivity issues your little one might be having.